


when the moon grows shy

by tooruluvr



Series: IwaOi Fluff Week 2020 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, IwaOi Fluff Week 2020, M/M, Oikawa Week 2020, Post-Time Skip, birthday fic, just two boys in love and talking about the moon, long distance iwaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:42:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25377115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooruluvr/pseuds/tooruluvr
Summary: On Tooru's birthday, Iwaizumi gives him the universe.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Series: IwaOi Fluff Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1837759
Comments: 27
Kudos: 228
Collections: Iwaoi fluff week 2020, Oikawa Week 2020





	when the moon grows shy

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday to oikawa tooru, a character i somehow managed to love while knowing absolutely nothing about him aside from his design. and then i watched haikyuu and fell in love with him even harder.
> 
> for: the 6th day of Oikawa Week 2020, using the prompts "the best way to celebrate / his favourite kind of surprise"
> 
> &
> 
> the 2nd day of Iwaoi Fluff Week 2020, using the prompts "birthday" and "moon".

If you ask Tooru what his favourite thing about Argentina is, he will not talk about the sunny park squares, flanked by towering trees and bustling with college students. He will not mention the wine bodegas just outside the reaches of San Juan, drawing in more visitors to their allure every year. He will not even speak of the gentle hum of the sea, its waves lapping at long stretches of sand.

Rather, what Tooru likes the most about Argentina is the very thing that draws the waves to their movement, the very thing that has looked down at him with sympathy on some nights and tender glows on others: the moon.

Which, yes, sounds ridiculous — the moon is the same everywhere after all, forever unchanged despite the constant shift between its phases. It is no different than the moon that had smiled down at him from the starry skies of Miyagi.

But Tooru had only grown to appreciate her on the first night he had landed in San Juan, had only found himself truly lost in her beauty the first night he had slept miles away from everything he has ever known — only then, when she had become his only companion, did Tooru truly _look_ at the moon.

It was childish, to think of the moon as anything more than an astronomical body, to think of her as an entity that could understand and express human emotions. Sometimes, he even laughed at himself.

Still, it had been Tooru’s only comfort on nights like this, nights of the new moon, when he’d truly be left alone to his own thoughts — it was a lot more interesting to think that the moon would grow shy and flee the skies every month, then slowly unveil herself as she becomes more confident.

It was a more welcome train of thoughts than...anything else, really.

And on nights like this, buried beneath his covers and awaiting a promised call, thinking of the moon as a kind being watching over him even while hidden puts Tooru at ease.

His phone rings at exactly half an hour to midnight. Tooru’s shocked, considering their calls tend to happen much later, but he immediately fumbles around for his phone, placing it as close to his ear as he can and closing his eyes.

When Iwaizumi speaks, it almost feels like he’s lying right next to him.

“Hey,” he says, his voice the gentle thrum of a harp. Tooru lets the familiarity of it wash over him. “You picked up faster than normal today.”

“Mm, I wasn’t doing anything,” Tooru mumbles, wishing he could sink further into the covers and take Iwaizumi’s voice with him.

“Looking at the moon again?”

“No. New moon today. It’s completely dark.” Tooru glances up at the window over his bed. Normally, the moonlight would be spilling into his room, tingeing the furniture with its soft glows. Now everything just looks bleak in its absence.

“I miss her, really...she’s very pretty here.”

“I’ll bet.”

“I’m prettier, though.”

There’s a snort of laughter on the other end. “Oikawa, are you seriously trying to get into a beauty competition with a clump of rocks?”

“A very _gorgeous_ clump of rocks, mind you,” Tooru tuts. “But I could rival the moon in terms of beauty. You think I’m prettier than the moon too, don’t you, Iwa-chan?”

He can’t see him, but Tooru can imagine with pristine clarity the smile drawing itself on Iwaizumi’s face, an image put together from hundreds and hundreds of their shared memories. It warms him like a kindling fire.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Iwaizumi says, a playful note to his voice. “Do you wanna tell me about your day?”

“Not this time,” Tooru murmurs. “Tell me about yours. Or just...talk. About anything.”

There’s a pause on the other end, and Tooru knows Iwaizumi’s realised that this is not one of his best nights. There’s no reason, usually — there are simply times when Tooru needs home, and what is home, if not the gentle rumble of Iwaizumi’s voice against his ear?

“Sure,” comes Iwaizumi’s answer, and after that it’s just him, his words, his _presence,_ right next to Tooru, even when they’re a continent apart. A lot of times, Iwaizumi simply slips into idle talk — something about a classmate he met, a new workout routine he’s trying, a new word he’s learnt — it’s nothing quite worth chatting at length for, but it’s Iwaizumi’s voice, kind and rough and boyish, and that’s all that matters. 

“Ah, it’s midnight,” Iwaizumi suddenly says, almost surprised.

“Is it?” Tooru pulls his phone away for a moment to check the time, then presses it to his ear once more. “Is this the part where you lecture me about sleeping early?”

“No, it’s the part where I wish you,” Iwaizumi laughs, all gentle warmth, and Tooru blinks in confusion. “Happy birthday, Tooru.”

“...Wh—” Tooru sits up, the blankets slipping past his shoulders. “What?”

“Just as I thought,” Iwaizumi says, a teasing lilt to his voice. “No wonder you didn’t mention it at all today. Normally you’re constantly bombarding me with questions on what your gift is and trying to spoil your own surprise.”

“...It’s my birthday,” Tooru whispers with all bewildered softness. “I forgot.”

“I didn’t.”

“Iwa-chan...”

“Hey, don’t go all sentimental on me now,” Iwaizumi teases, and never before has Tooru wished he were near him more than now. “C’mon, open your camera. I wanna see you.”

Tooru quickly runs a hand through his hair, then almost laughs at himself, because since when has something like that mattered with Iwaizumi?

He turns on the camera, and Iwaizumi greets him with a smile that mirrors itself on Tooru’s face instantly. 

“Hey,” Tooru says, because, God, what _else_ can he possibly hope to utter that wouldn’t be absolute gibberish?

“Nice hairdo,” Iwaizumi grins, and Tooru can’t even bring himself to feign annoyance; the sight of him is more refreshing than the ocean air. The upward pull of his lips, the subtle pink dusting his cheekbones, the comfort in the greens of his eyes — Tooru can almost sympathise with the waves, now, constantly drawn to the moon but never able to touch its surface. 

And to Tooru, Iwaizumi’s pull feels so much stronger.

“I can’t believe you actually forgot about your birthday,” Iwaizumi laughs. “Was practice that tough? They’re really keeping you in shape out there.”

Tooru huffs. “I keep myself in shape well enough, Iwa-chan.”

It’s easy — so, so easy to simply fall back into this old routine of theirs, this childish banter that knows no end. Tooru wraps himself up with the blankets again and balances his phone on the window sill above his bed, leaning his head against the cool glass. 

“Now I know why you called so early,” he says, “Normally you’d still be having dinner with your roommates. Did you pass up on that for me?”

“You’re saying that as if it wasn’t the most obvious thing to do,” Iwaizumi arches a brow, regarding him with disbelief. “You know, you don’t have to act all surprised whenever I do something nice for you.”

“Hm, but, that’s your fault, you know,” Tooru says. “You’re always so mean to me it’s confusing when you’re suddenly sweet.”

“...Just because today is your birthday, I’m not going to cuss at you.”

“Again? Iwa-chan, you’re on a roll today!” Tooru laughs, and almost instinctively ducks, because he knows that if Iwaizumi were here he would have grabbed the nearest thing to throw at him. 

They fall into a comfortable silence after that — just Tooru, and Iwa-chan, and the moon. 

“Do you have a wish?” Iwaizumi suddenly asks. “For your birthday?”

“A wish? It’s not like I’m blowing out a candle. And there isn’t a meteor shower, either.”

“Who cares,” Iwaizumi shrugs. “You can still wish for something.”

“But Iwa-chan, if I say it out loud, it won’t come true!” Tooru sighs dramatically, leaning back. “Ah, but I guess this one’s impossible...so it shouldn’t matter if I tell you.”

Iwaizumi says nothing. He simply waits, as he always does, for Tooru to open up on his own. He’s never tried to pry. Tooru loves him for that — well, for many things, really.

“...It’s a little selfish, but...” Tooru sighs, eyes flitting to where the moon should be. “I wish you were here with me.”

“...That’s not selfish,” Iwaizumi says. His voice has dropped considerably; it catches Tooru off-guard. “But I am with you, aren’t I?”

Tooru shakes his head. “You know what I mean.”

_I want you with me, as in, close enough to touch, close enough to breathe in your scent and be overwhelmed by it. Close enough to kiss — just once, only once._

Iwaizumi hears all that is unspoken in the quiet between them. He knows, and Tooru can tell he knows by his downcast eyes.

But when he looks up to meet his gaze again, he pins him in place, and Tooru is suddenly struck by the thought that perhaps Iwaizumi’s pull would be strong enough to draw him in across continents after all.

“Look at the sky, Tooru,” Iwaizumi says. “You can’t see the moon tonight, but you know she’s _there,_ right?”

“Well, yes, but what—”

“And here,” Iwaizumi continues, turning to face his own window, “I can’t see the moon either. But I know she hasn’t left us.” Iwaizumi fixes him in a look then, one that has Tooru completely entranced. There’s a fierceness in his eyes he knows all too well.

Suddenly, Tooru is fourteen again, and Iwaizumi is telling him, _“Six who are strong are stronger!”_

Suddenly, Tooru is eighteen again, and Iwaizumi is declaring to the night, _“You’re a partner I can be proud of, you’re the absolute best setter.”_

Suddenly, Tooru is on the cusp of nineteen, a plane ticket away from the rest of his life, and Iwaizumi is promising him, _“You’ll shine out there, Oikawa. And I’ll be with you the whole way.”_

His heart seems to swell in his chest.

“I’m not with you right now,” Iwaizumi says, “and I know there are times when we wish we were together so badly — but none of that changes the fact that I’m _with_ you, Tooru, and you’re _with_ me, even if I can’t see you. Your presence is there. Everything I feel towards you — it’s still there.

“It doesn’t matter how far apart we are,” he tells him. “It doesn’t matter if there’s an ocean between us. Because the sky is above us both, and the moon is above us both — and they’re the same ones we spent countless nights watching back in Miyagi, too.”

“Iwa-chan...”

“The distance doesn’t matter,” Iwaizumi insists again, “because the sky is real, and the moon is real, and what we have together is real. So are you gonna let a measly six thousand miles get between all that?”

Tooru can’t help the laugh that escapes him — only Iwaizumi, with absolutely no hesitation, would belittle something as vast as miles of distance. And Tooru thinks he could kiss him for that alone.

“No,” he answers, surprised at the wobble of his own voice. “Of course not. God, Iwa-chan, and you call _me_ a sap.”

“Because you are,” Iwaizumi says matter-of-factly. He looks out his window again. “...Speaking of the moon, lucky it’s a new one on your birthday, huh?”

“Lucky?”

“I read about it before,” Iwaizumi says. “I’m sure you know more about it than I do. The new moon is a birth. It’s a new beginning. Another chance after thousands of ones before it.” He looks at him and smiles, earnest. The tips of his ears are pink. “I think it’s fitting.”

Tooru clutches his covers, hoping to cling on to this feeling forever.

A new beginning.

_The moon is truly kind._

“...When you asked me earlier,” Iwaizumi says, rubbing the back of his neck, “if I think you’re prettier than the moon — well, I didn’t expect it.”

“I mean, I was just—”

“I thought, of course you know what I think,” Iwaizumi laughs softly, and Tooru captures the sound in his heart. “That you’re prettier than anything the universe can come up with, Tooru.”

Tooru feels his breath catch in his chest, feels a hummingbird trapped in his ribcage. _Prettier than anything the universe can come up with._ He said that. Iwa-chan said that — wholeheartedly _believes_ it, and Tooru thinks he might just cry from the tender tone of his voice alone.

“Hey, are you actually—Oikawa? Oh God, was that too much?”

“I love you,” Tooru breathes, sure and free and _raw_. “I love you more than anything in this world, Hajime.”

Iwaizumi stares at him, flushing down to his neck. He looks away and covers his mouth with his hand, fingers trembling slightly.

“Not the sky, and not the moon, could ever compare,” Tooru continues through a blurry vision. “Not anything.” He swallows hard, rubbing the tears from his eyes. “I can’t believe you made me cry on my birthday, Iwa-chan. Really, you’re just too cruel.”

“I love you too,” Iwaizumi says, voice thick, eyes still fixed on something in the distance. “Even made myself cry...”

“Have a taste of your own medicine,” Tooru lets out a wobbly laugh, then takes a deep breath. “Hey, Hajime?”

“...Yeah?” Iwaizumi wipes quickly at his eyes, now rimmed red, and finally meets his gaze.

“This is the best gift you’ve ever given me, you know that?”

The sky, the moon, his words, his time, his heart — Iwaizumi has placed the universe in the palm of Tooru’s hand and enclosed his fingers around it.

Tooru takes it and tucks it in his chest, right next to his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> and with this, i counter all your angsty long-distance iwaoi fics! hah!


End file.
